


Underneath our masked faces

by Narsha



Category: Naruto
Genre: Dark, F/M, Female Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi is a Good Teacher, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Mental Instability, The moon eye plan is a thing, Uchiha Obito Lives, or at least she tries, uchiha itachi is a spy for Konoha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:46:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27729736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narsha/pseuds/Narsha
Summary: What do you do when you learn that your best friend who died years ago was suddenly alive and possessed by an evil spirit? Hatake Kakashi had thought she would die in action just like he did. But to save him, she might have to reveal what was underneath their masked face. But will getting his heart beating again enough to change the fate of the world?
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi/Yamato | Tenzou
Comments: 10
Kudos: 67





	1. Chapter 1

Hatake Kakashi looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t like infiltration missions, but this was a favor she was doing to Jiraya-Sama, so she couldn’t exactly complain about it.

Officially, she was just taking a vacation at a local onsen. Officiously, she will probably be meeting with a contact from the Sannin’s network and convey information back to Konoha. Why he asked her to come was a bit odd, considering the old man had numerous informants.

Underneath this, there was probably another story.

She departed from Konoha with a light pack and a disguise, as always. Before leaving, she had to take some new clothes, as she had nothing else to wear apart from standard-issue uniforms from her ANBU days or her Jounin flak jacket. She felt strange, looking at clothes that would fit her. After years in secret services where your identity and gender were giveaways, she was not comfortable with her mix of curves and muscles. It didn’t feel like her.

Kakashi knew herself to be pretty, but nothing that came from her features were ever good. Her father had died from not completing a mission properly, and most of her friends have been killed in action for doing theirs. The most she could hope for was to die on this job when the time was right. Until then, she just had to excel at her job.

She was not a great fan of this “vacation setting”. Jiraya knew about her gender, and that was probably why he asked. Nobody would think copy-ninja Kakashi was this woman travelling alone with a merchant’s caravan, a dog for sole company.

“Where are you headed Ma’am?” the innkeeper asked when she arrived two days later in the middle of Fire Country.

“I heard there was a great onsen nearby?” she asked innocently. “I’m supposed to find a friend of mine there. He told me the location was a bit… peculiar? But that there was a local village that made great sweets nearby.”

The innkeeper raised a brow. She managed to blush prettily. Jiraya had mentioned it was a mixed onsen, and that they made one of the best daifukumochi he ever ate. It was a place with enough public, but not very known, perfect for a secure exchange of information.

“There’s a village about five miles east.” He said vaguely. He was probably needing some convincing.

“How about I stay the night and breakfast, and you show me the way?”

She didn’t know if it was her appearance or the perspective of profit that interest him (the place was quite empty), but it worked. If she was right, she might need the room a few days, depending on when this informant came in contact with her.

She knew her cover like the back of her hand. She had used it a long time ago, back before she was about to be promoted Jounin. There had been this cover mission she was assigned to, where she had to pose as a princess. All she had done was wearing a rich embroidered kimono and leave her mask behind. Even though her guards had been comprised of Genins of her promotion, none of them recognized her. Not even Obito! She remembered this mission quite fondly: she had messed with the Uchiha boy a bit, wondering if she could shift his interest in their medic teammate, and stop his constant simpering. Well, it’s not as if it was important now.

As she undressed herself, her reflection in the mirror made her still a fraction of a second. Even though the colors were wrong, the rest of her body was completely hers. At 27, she looked younger than her age, even though her naked silhouette and scars betrayed her years of service.

“Something of the matter, Boss?” Pakkun asked. “You look out of it.”

“It’s this vacation thing… I know it’s not, but the Hokage seemed up to something.” She ruffled her hair in frustration.

“You’re working too hard. You should eat and sleep more; I can smell your anxiety from here.”

“What would be the point?” She flopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “We have been in piece for many years. There’s nothing happening in the world right now, and I just feel… useless…”

Pakkun put his cold nose against her unclothed neck. She scratched him distractedly behind his ears.

“Maybe you’ll have some fun on this vacation. Something else to focus on.”

Kakashi already had something to focus on. She wanted to die for her country, the way all her friends had gone…

* * *

She was utterly bored.

Half lying on a rock, half immerged in hot water, she was letting her sake jar and cup drift on the floating plate. She might need a refill soon, and the buzz of the alcohol in her veins was lulling her gently.

Apart from her, there had only been an old lady earlier today, and the woman had given her directions for a nice walk she could enjoy later. She had not been her informant. Jiraya had said he was male, and that she would recognize him immediately as a missing nin.

Well… maybe she should just enjoy the calm moments while there were here.

Her nose twitched. There was someone coming. Her eyes widened. Wasn’t that… Uchiha Itachi!? She almost jumped on her stone, glancing at her reflection to see if her eyes were still brown and not grey, if the paint over her eye masked her infamous scar, and if her hair was still dyed brown.

In the entrance of the onsen, there he was, looking at her with various degrees of wariness. It was unmistakably Uchiha Itachi. The world suddenly shifted on its axis.

The responsible of the Uchiha Massacre had grown well. Gone was the scrawny boy they shoved in her ANBU team of misfits. Admittedly, he was still a teenager, since he must have been something like 18 or 19 now, but he had matured a lot. Kakashi wasn’t confident she could get the upper hand if the situation got more out of hand. As Itachi adjusted his towel around his hips, his fingers briefly signed for “Jiraya”.

Uchiha Itachi was a contact of Jiraya-Sama? What was going on?

“May I?” he asked, ever so polite. She nodded. In that brief exchange, the grip oh his towel changed slightly, signing for “Jiraya”. She just raised the book she had come with. He sat, not too close, but not too far either. She felt his relaxed form was only a lie, but it reassured her, nonetheless. His body language was nearly flawless, but she could sense his unease.

“So?” she asked, filling the second cup with sake and sending the beverage his way.

“I am underage.” He chastised her and she repressed a snort.

“Enough to kill…” she said.

He took the cup and sent the floating plate back. She blinked. There was a picture on it.

“I was asked to confirm the identity of this man,” He said, taking a sip.

She glanced at the man on the picture. The angle was not good, as if the picture had been rushed. It was a man between 25 and 35 years old, with chiseled features she immediately identified as Uchiha. The face was half covered by an orange mask with a swirl. She could not quite make his face, but something was suddenly banging at the back of her mind. But the simple fact that he looked like an Uchiha… She focused on the other details on the picture: the shine of a Sharingan in one of his eyes, the tousled black hair, the coat under his arms that looked like a uniform…

“Ahem… The face looks familiar but…” She sent back the plate after another helping of alcohol. “Could be that I am influenced by your face.”

“You’re hiding something.” He stated.

She cocked her head to the side. For the time being, she felt like she missed some pieces of the puzzle. But she did not want him to know she was half bluffing.

“I might need more than a badly taken picture,” she replied. “Got some family left after all?”

If there was a twitch at this, he concealed it. He took another sip. She wished she had kept a weapon at hand. She was quite sure Itachi was better at water Jutsu than she was: she taught him everything she knew.

“I will not answer this question. If you cannot give me the information I am looking for, I suggest you leave.”

“So, you have more to give me.”

“I trust only Jiraya, not the messenger and their personal motivations.”

“I’m here because he asked me. So are you. You’re the one with the information.”

Since this was going to be a waiting game, she stood out of the water and took her things. If he wanted to give her information, she would be waiting in town. He nodded when she told him that. Never leaving the exists, she put on her change of clothes. It was a simple design, with a white and pink design with big flowers. Her matching umbrella hid a gas sprinkler, and a sword was hidden in the handle. She had various blades and senbons carefully secreted in the seams of her clothes. She walked in direction of the town with a sedated pace.

She smelled the raven behind her, even though he produced no sound. She knew the boy wouldn’t let her go that easily. There was no use. It was clear that he didn’t intend to attack her (yet), and they both trusted Jiraya to arrange a meeting with a trustworthy person.

The fact that a mass murderer was one of his spies bothered her. She told the same to Pakkun when he came to meet her in town.

“But aren’t all ninjas murderers?” the pup asked her.

She made a stop at a local tea house. Their green tea was quite good. The sweets were too. Jiraya had been right: this was a good place. Quite soon after settling down on her seat and munching on sweets, she became engrossed with the master’s latest book. Erotica had always been her way to forget about the stress. Other ninjas had hobbies to forget about all the fighting, like Tenzo who tended to his plants. She liked to read smut. It allowed her to forget how people tried to sell her charms in missions, or pretended they wanted the survival of the Hatake house.

Itachi-San sat across her. He was wearing civilian clothes as well, but he was probably hiding weapon just like she did. She didn’t look at him much, since he seemed more preoccupied with looking at her, deep in thoughts. She felt a hint of arousal coming from him and her lips twitched. She didn’t know what to think of a mass-murderer / ex-student ogling her and liking what he saw.

Then suddenly he straightened, brows furrowed and ready to attack. She tensed in return and looked right inside his eyes. His Sharingan was spinning. Shit!

And then, as if he didn’t believe it himself, he asked:

“Kakashi-Senpai? Is that you?”

“Yeah, sorry. The stupid bird saw me.” Pakkun mumbled from under her chair.

She blinked at the teenager before her. There was a hint of mortification on his face. It was either caused by the realization that he stared at his former senpai, or if he still believed (like most) she had been a man. Not the most spectacular reaction she had received (that had been Gai), but a fun one nonetheless.

“Is there something you want to tell me or are you here to waste my time in my pseudo vacations?” she asked.

“Either you are the copy nin in disguise, or you are mimicking him very well. In both case your acting and disguise skills are commendable.” She nods in thanks but does not divulge anything. “I can give you more details, but not in a conventional way. And even then, I am not quite sure these details will matter if you cannot confirm the identity of that man.”

“Given that he looks like an Uchiha, I suppose there are not many people who could identify him.”

If he was just a lookalike, she had no idea who he could be. If he was a legit Uchiha who survived the massacre… She frowned. She didn’t know the faces of the male Uchiha who would have been between 20 and 30 during the massacre. There had been a lot of policemen, and she wasn’t familiar with them at all.

“You would be correct, …?” His voice trailed, waiting for a name.

“Call me Mina.” This was the alias she had used the most since that escort mission.

“Mina-San, if I am correct, the man you saw is supposed to have died a long time ago. I want to be certain of his identity before I try anything regarding him.”

“And why would I help you. I may trust Jiraya-Sama, but I don’t trust you.”

He straightened in his chair. Kakashi had seen such a serious expression on Itachi-San’s face just once: back when he was about to… She was ready to strike.

“That man is possessed by an ancient evil, Mina-San. I do not know of his plans, but I do know he latched upon the body of my kinsman. But I think the man could be saved. And if I am right, only Kakashi-Senpai will be able to save him, because they used to be friends.”

Kakashi chuckled darkly. Saving a man from being possessed? What was he talking about? This story was ridiculous.

“Stop pulling my leg, Uchiha.” She spat. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Kakashi is called the friend-killer for a reason: he has nobody left.”

“If that is the case, then there is nothing to lose and everything to win.”

And then, Itachi gave her the most beautiful broken smile that ever was… And pulled her in a Genjutsu.

She saw a succession of images and sounds through Itachi-San’s eyes, and probably through the eyes of one of his crows. It was training, harsh training. There was a man giving orders, and he was… changing voices? There seemed to be several personas inhabiting this guy. A cold one teaching Itachi. As for the other one…

She gasped, blinking her eyes. The illusion had only lasted a fistful of seconds, but it had been so vivid. As if some mist had been lifted, she thought back of the features of the man on the picture and in Itachi’s memories. It was a man with deep scars on the entire right side of his body. But that side had a Sharingan... With an afterthought, she felt the tomoe on her left eye spinning furiously.

“The fuck was that…” She gripped the table, heavily panting.

“Senpai focus! You have to stop pouring chakra in your Sharingan. You’re gonna lose consciousness…”

She couldn’t help the bitter laugh… Obito was alive!? And he needed her help…


	2. Chapter 2

It was weeks since she met with Itachi-San and was spooked out of her mind.

Uchiha Obito, or someone looking suspiciously like her old friend had been training him. The teenager revealed he was possessed by an ancient spirit. The rest of her stay near the lovely onsen was hazy. She remembered the trembling that got to her. Obito had been her closest friend with Rin. And at the worst moment, she lost her eye and opened her heart to Obito.

“ _When we go back to Konoha, I’ll make sure you wear that girly kimono and parade you in the entire town!_ ” he had yelled at her.

The memory made her laugh. She had been mortified by his proposition. But he had seemed so earnest… There had always been that odd dynamic in their team. Rin had a crush on her because she thought he was the coolest boy around. Obito had a crush on Rin because she was nice to him when he was an outcast. And Kakashi… Well, Kakashi once held feelings for Minato-Sensei, but he fell in love with Kushina-Nee. In the end, she decided that love was a stupid thing that bothered team dynamics and would rather have it end.

So, she told Rin about her gender. The other girl was confused by Kakashi’s attitude and taught her that you could be attracted by someone regardless of their gender. That lead to a whole lot of questionings on Kakashi’s part. But since Rin was often the only one to talk to her about it, and Kakashi was very clear on the lack of interest on her part, Rin’s crush faded into a nice friendship.

For Obito, she thought he would never let go of the silly crush he had on Rin. But there was a mission where Kakashi had to pose as a princess to show her skills. Since she had been raised as the Hatake heiress as well as a genius ninja, it was quite easy to get in the right mindset. There was another part of this mission, a darker one. The backstory she had been given was that she was engaged to a man and on her way to her wedding. She had no idea this was an actual wedding organized by the Hatake clan. Obito, being the sensitive fool that he was, tried to discuss the issue with her cover, the way he would discuss with any of their clients. Suddenly, there was this connection between them.

Covers always have a bit of yourself inside, simply because the higher ups will not let you go out on a mission with a cover story you couldn’t own. Princess Mina did not want to marry the one they chose for her, simply because she could put two and two together and this was a man who was supposed to marry Kakashi. Even underneath pretenses, once consummated, that false marriage would have been unbreakable. Obito had no idea what he did when he opened his heart to his client, the way he softens towards everyone. Maybe it’s because this time, Kakashi listened to his babbling. Maybe it’s because this time she shared, but there was something.

Of course, the mission did not go as planned, especially with an unpredictable ninja with a hero complex messing everything up. He would never know what happened to the little princess, though, as Kakashi (still in disguise), was discharged to a Konoha team (in disguise as well), when the marriage could not occur.

Neither Rin or Kakashi, or team seven, heard a word about that. Obito seemed to keep his crush on Rin and act like he ever did. Kakashi was left at her own devices, worrying about political marriages and even more worried about relationships within her own team.

But when she had to make a choice: the mission or her team, Kakashi could only think of the stain that never went off the tatami’s mats. Her father had been the stone that tipped the scale. If he had obeyed, there would be no war. But when Obito left and called her names, she knew she was wrong. Being an outcast because of a mistake is one thing, but at least her father kept her friends throughout everything. And she had chosen this silly boy to open her heart to.

The moment she saved Obito from the Iwa ninja, Kakashi knew she’d owe him the truth. She had messed with his feelings, as much as she had overpoured hers. Despite trying to control herself, she had been a mess.

The face he made, that very face tore her heart out. There was betrayal in his eyes. She hadn’t meant to lie to him. It had been a mission where she had to act undercover. And she… She had told him things about her that made her vulnerable. With a poor choice of words, he could destroy her. But instead of that, he just looked at her with his newfound Sharingans, and asked to see her face. And then he yelled that most ridiculous thing about parading her across town…

Well, in the end, it didn’t matter. The only thing left was an eye she didn’t own and an aching heart.

About a year later, she killed the last member of her team with her own hands. And the year after, Kyuubi killed both Minato-Sensei and Kushina-Nee…

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A loud banging at her window got her out of her thoughts. It was Tenzo. He had a terrible face on. Again, he always had a terrible face. He could be even scary sometimes.

“SENPAI! Why are you still cramped in your room?!” he yelled at her

Tenzo had been one of the first who knew about her gender. Since he started out as a ROOT member, he didn’t have all these silly reactions to females others had. Quite like Gai (but for other reasons), he treated her the same from the moment he assumed she was male and the moment he knew she was a female. This was probably why she liked him as a friend better than guys like Genma who pretty much hit on anything who had a vagina, or Raido who decided to completely change his behavior towards her because she was a woman.

“What is it, Tenzo?” she asked cooly.

“Don’t you have a Genin team to pass?”

She looked at the calendar. Oh, yes. It was that time of the year. With all these back to back missions, she had started to forget about it all.

“Maah, don’t worry so much. I’ll just give them a test tomorrow, and they’ll fail it.”

“Senpai…” Tenzo sighed.

“Okay, I’ll go… But only if you treat me to dinner afterwards.”

“Senpai…” he cringed.

“Aaah, there’s only so many ways you can make my title sound!” she teased on a carefree tone, as she left to find her flak jacket and her sandals.

Suddenly he was backing her against the wall, way too close for her comfort. Tenzo’s arms were on each side of her head. Had he always been so tall?

“You say that, but I put you on edge the moment I get too close, Senpai.” His voice had a deep undertone that made her want to grip something in case she fell. “You’re always teasing, but I’ve always wondered what you’d do if I ever teased back.”

His face was serious, way too serious. She could feel the shiver in her back. How long didn’t she had the occasion to… _release the pressure_. It was the first time she looked at Tenzo and she saw a man, and not just a comrade she trusted.

“Tenzo, my favorite kohai!” she nervously laughed “I seem to have forgotten that I have cute little students to meet right now!”

“Oh, well, then I’ll let you go to these little Genin.”

Was he manipulating her? She felt a twinge of anger within her. Grumbling, she pulls her Jounin gear. She usually does not wear it, way more used to the ANBU gear that masks her feminine curves. The standard dark blue pants were hugging her tight. Maybe she should go for more loose clothes? She could feel the eyes of her kohai on her. She had never given much interest on people, preferring erotica and her own fingers to be subjected to a man. She had a casual arrangement with Gai, and she knew she could go to him if needed.

“But Senpai, I’ll keep that dinner of ours in mind. Amongst other things.” Tenzo said with that deep undertone she felt earlier. Was he suggesting…? Was she sending signs…?

She brushed these thoughts away. She had cute little Genins to see…

She shunshined to the Academy. First thing first, seeing Iruka! He would give her all the information she needed. After landing on the roof, she quickly moved to the teacher’s lounge, and perched herself on the Chuunin’s desk. It took the man almost a full second to see her, another to gape at her without anything to say.

“Yo!” She said, closing her eyes and raising a hand. She put on a cute expression on her face.

“Do you know how late you are?”

“Nope! I don’t!” she singsonged.

Umino Iruka ruffled his hair in annoyance before glaring at her. For a split second, she thought she saw a strange expression on his face, but if was gone too soon for her to ponder on it. He had that strict face that didn’t scare her, and his arms closed. There was a hint of smugness on his face.

“This time, you won’t be able to fail this team, I tell you.”

“We’ve been doing that for years. Just watch me.” She replied smoothly.

“You wanna bet?”

Was he stupid? He was about to lose. But there was something smug on his face she did not like. He was younger than her, and a bit of a troublemaker. But she envied the way he led his life. Both were entrusted with the future of Konoha. She got the missions the politicians threw at her, and he got to teach the children her missions were protecting. She was maintaining the peace and he was building upon it. But in the end, she knew this academy testing was just a masquerade. Never would the higher ups try to tie her down to a bunch of kids, if they could still get more of her. And she would not let them tie her down and make her settle down just yet.

Who would go on for Obito if she wasn’t there anymore?

The thought hit her like a fist in the gut, and she recoiled. It must have shown, because gone was the smug expression on Iruka’s face.

“You’re sure you’re alright Kakashi-San?” he asked, and she hated the worry on his voice.

“Let’s go see the kids you shoved into my hands this time.” She bit back. “I bet they’re as lousy as the last bunch.”

“You’ll see” Iruka said. “But if you loose…”

“Yeah, yeah, the loser gets to do what the winner wants.”

Last year she had Iruka go to a Chuunin night-out shirtless. It had been hilarious. She wondered if she could enroll Gai in this year’s punishment, it would be quite hilarious. She was thinking about that when she gabbed the sliding door of the classroom. And let the chalk eraser fell on her head.

She looked at the three kids inside the room. Seriously? She ignored the twinge at seeing the orange-clad mini-Minato, focusing on Itachi-San’s brother and the girl with pink hair. Orange, pink and blue… They couldn’t pick more conspicuous colors? What did they teach kids these days?

“Well…” she drawled “how can I say that… My first impression of you is… I don’t like you.”

Then we were back on the roof getting this presentation done. Usually I did not care the least, but I had to admit Iruka might be right. This team… I got had this year! There was no way I could fail them with my usual dumb tricks.

“We’re going to start with presentations. Tell me what you like, what you dislike, your dreams for the future, your hobbies…” she thought it was what she should ask.

“Neee Sensei, you could start by yourself?” Naruto asked.

She remembered guarding this little rascal when he was a baby. He truly had grown. When was the last time she saw him?

“Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. What I like and dislike doesn’t concern you. About my dreams… I don’t think I have one. As for my hobbies, I have several.”

She said nothing about the nagging sensation she had since meeting Uchiha Itachi.

Uzumaki Naruto had no idea of his parentage. All his life was about Ramen and being Hokage. That… was not surprising given his parents but made Kakashi wonder about hereditary traits. Haruno Sakura was a problem: she was nothing more than a fangirl and motivating her might be hard. As for Sasuke… He was only motivated by getting his revenge on his older brother.

Well, time to see if they had brains and muscles and what could be done from there.

And the face they made when she told them they still had an exam to pass in order to become Genin… This was hilarious! Well at least, they didn’t know they were one of the team bound to pass the test. She could still have some fun for the time being.

After giving the kids a meeting 5 a.m., she went back to the offices to give Iruka a piece of her mind. She was pleased to see him flinched when she shunshined in front of him. He was not ready for heavy field work that one…

“You knew who was on this team” Kakashi accused.

“And you’re the one who placed a bet without knowing.” Iruka replied smoothly.

“I can still fail them.” She said with assurance.

“You know it’s impossible. I made the teams myself. You are perfect for them. If I’m right, Naruto will have either a fondness of seals or a lightning ability, you have the only Sharingan we have left to train an Uchiha, and Sakura has an eidetic memory.”

“What do you want” she huffed. “You’re going to make me regret all I did to you, aren’t you?”

“Well, unlike someone I know, my aim is not to make the other ridiculous in public, but to enjoy myself.”

“I enjoyed myself! At your expense. So, what will be your price?”

“Impatient? I won’t tell you just yet. You’ll have to pass your team first.” Iruka’s eyes were gleaming Was there something in the air today? She felt quite uneasy. “But, I suppose that if you’re gracious enough to admit you are losing this bet…”

Iruka always had warm brown eyes and an honest face. He smelled like paper, ink and crayon like most paper ninja, but there was something more to him, something round and full like chocolate. Just like she had felt the shift in the atmosphere with Tenzo this morning, there was a shift with Iruka. She saw the minute squaring of his shoulders and the edge on his smile. He must have felt that too.

“I’m not going to ask you to do something you wouldn’t like Kakashi.” He said in a breath.

He was deliberately slow when he put a hand on her neck. She fought the reflex of getting away. This was a point where he could kill her whenever he wanted to, but she chose to trust him. Ever slowly, he curled a thumb around the edges of her mask and tugged it down. Slowly, as if he was approaching a small animal, he traced the skin of her cheek with the pad of his fingers. He was getting closer and closer.

She cleared her voice. He stopped, his eyes in hers, asking for permission.

“What is…” oh Kami her voice sounded so squeaky. “What do you…”

“I’d settle for a kiss, if you’re okay with this.” He was earnest.

The lips that touched hers were soft and warm. She could not help but move against them to find a better position. His other hand cupped her face as he pressed his lips repeatedly against his. Contact with his mouth fluctuated again, and she sighed. A moment passed and he let her go, with her cheeks flushed.

She put her mask back on and looked away, arms crossed around her middle.

“I… Uh… Maybe I read to much in your reactions…” he babbled.

“No! It’s okay Iruka-Kun…” she sighed. “I guess I’m… a mess right now.”

“Wanna… uh… talk about it?”

She could not tell him a mass murderer asked her to save her dead friend from being possessed by ghosts! So, she settled for:

“I’m having personal issues, that I can’t discuss with you. It’s making me emotional.”

Maybe that was what Tenzo and Iruka picked upon, her emotional mess. She did not like that idea. It made her vulnerable. What if they hurt her? Not that it was their aim, but… they could?

“I’m here if you need to talk.” He said with a smile, and there was something futtering in her chest.

She was gone before he could say anything else.


	3. Chapter 3

“Can you confim this man is Uchiha Obito?” Jiraya-Sama asked.

They were standing in front of the memorial stone. Her uncovered eye followed the etching of _his name_ on the stone. She did not understand. Had this been a lie? If he had been alive all this time, why didn’t he come back? Rin had said there was nothing she could have done to save their teammate. Yet, there was this man wearing a face that could be his, his right side covered with healed scars.

“I’m not entirely sure. The resemblance is uncanny” She said. “But I don’t see why someone would choose this face…”

“There are several possibilities. If it is not the body of Uchiha Obito, it can be someone trying to hide their face with the one of another. If it is his real body, and that he is indeed inhabited by something else… It could be to use his remaining Sharingan. Dôjutsu transplants usually don’t end as well as yours.”

The eye that wasn’t hers watered under her mask. She did not like where this story was going.

“Itachi-Kun said he mastered the Uchiha clan Taijutsu and Ninjutsu style. And this man apparently meddled with Konoha on different occasions: the Kyuubi’s attack and the Uchiha Massacre. He might come back for more, but we don’t know his motivations.”

“So, your idea is to know if Obito is what…? Inside him?”

“Itachi-Kun noticed he seemed to have several personalities. If he can be rehabilitated, or at least taken into custody…”

A silence passed and Kakashi thought about Orochimaru who had been Jiraya’s teammate and friends all these years ago. He too had done terrible things. Anko and Tenzo, as well as many others were still suffering from him. What about all the people this man (Obito?) has killed? Many innocent lives were lost… But many could be saved if they had the right intel.”

“Can I ask why we need him into custody? What are the whereabouts of this man? What do we know of him? All I know is that he has a Sharingan, that he trained Itachi-San and that I am needed somehow.”

“Itachi-Kun said you mentioned the uniform the man was wearing. Have you heard of Akatsuki?” She shook her head and he continued. “Akatsuki is the organization Orochimaru joined for a few years. I don’t know their goals, but they recruited Itachi-Kun, as well as several other criminals.”

“An association of highly dangerous criminals?” Kakashi is reminded of Itachi-San’s painted nails and the silver ring on one of his fingers. “It seems unlikely they sticked together if they didn’t have something that linked them.”

“Itachi-Kun thinks there is something else too. For now, they have been mostly tasked with hunting bounties. He said they were paired up, and that his partner was likely chosen to keep tabs on him. He thinks they don’t believe them enough, probably because he still has strong ties with Konoha. Speaking of which, how are your little rascals doing?”

Kakashi glowered. Her hand had been forced, and the three kids on team seven were amongst the nine who had passed this year. Konoha only wanted quality Genins to be under a qualified instructor. But the Academy Instructors already knew who was most likely to pass when they made the teams. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had been put in the same team because of their skills, and the number of other clan kids in this promotion. Whoever they put on their team, and whatever instructor they chose for them, they would be promoted.

There was no logical reason they chose her. After years of this charade where she would show-up as a Jounin and fail a team, they decided to partner them all. She may have a Sharingan, they could have waited for Sasuke to require a apprenticeship and give him to her. Naruto was Jiraya’s godson, and the man’s hand would be forced too, so he would be taught. Sakura was expendable, being the child of two chuunin who had not had much of a brilliant carrier. She was smart, maybe she’d find her place on her own.

But they gave these three kids to her and reformed team seven. That made no sense. Unless... There was an idea growing in Kakashi’s head. It was just a whisper, but it went round and round.

“The rascals are doing fine, considering I was appointed as their teacher.” She said evasively. She was not foolish enough to give a spy master a hold on her half-baked ideas.

“I’m sure you will do great by them.” Jiraya-Sama replied in the same light tone. “How’s the training going?”

“Oh, you know, I show up late and I give them D ranks missions most of the time. At one point, maybe the higher ups will see that I am wasting their time and reallocate all of us where we belong.”

She was an ANBU captain. They needed them for the dangerous missions! Not for some… babysitting. Once their time are wasted enough, they’ll stop trying to have her taking care of these children. She didn’t want to care. Caring only lead to suffering. They would all die on the field or come home broken. She was already damaged enough. There was no need to have her taint the future of Konoha. It was better in the hands of idealists like Iruka.

Didn’t he ask her on a date or something? She could not remember. She had decided not to care.

“You’re failing this assignment on purpose.” Jiraya-Sama sighed. “But you can’t this time.”

“And why not?” She raised a brow.

“Because whoever this man looking like Obito Uchiha really is, you’re our edge against him. Or rather, your little rascals and you are. And I’m quite sure he’s posted near Kiri these days.”

“You think he’ll want Sasuke because he trained Itachi-San, and Naruto because of the Kyuubi?”

“This is the idea I had. But I had to convince Itachi-Kun to give a bit of leeway regarding his baby brother. He’s the one who came up with the idea that this guy could be Obito, and that you could help.”

Kakashi laughed derisively. What was she then? Her team was just a giant bet in front of a guy they knew close to nothing. The only thing they had was a hunch.

“I’d like to see you try. I will keep burying these kids under D rank missions. See how much leeway Konoha is going to give us.”

Jiraya smiled mysteriously. Kakashi hated it. Seriously! They just had to give her an ANBU team and they would have an easier time catching this guy! But no, she had to deal with three kids and train them. She had to go to appointments with Inoichi, because someone spread the word the was not right in the head. She had to see Gai, and Tenzo, and Asuma and Kurenai, and all the others regularly. She had written her White Letters over and over again, and each time there was someone new she had to say goodbye too.

So, when Naruto threw a tantrum right before the Hokage for a C-Rank mission, and _the man accepted_! She should not have been surprised. Jiraya knew how to maneuver his old master. Maybe he was manipulating her as well. Everything for a chance to… what? Capture a guy who could be Uchiha Obito?

She grabbed her things in her house. This was the last thing she had from her father, and what was left of the Hatake Clan in Konoha. She had relatives at the Capital, but nobody lived there for a while. Sometimes Tenzo came to sleep. She noted that he hung out more now that she had returned to a “normal” life. They talked far more now that Inoichi made her speak of all her issues. She didn’t know what to think of their relationship now. He was just… there. She didn’t know if she liked it, but he had this longing stare that followed her last time he was there. He didn’t like the fact that Iruka came for a coffee or two.

She shoved her thoughts back in her head to take care of her kids. Sasuke and Sakura needed minor adjustments in their packs… Naruto on the other hand, had tried to pack his entire house. She felt like a mom telling him what to take or not. Calmly, at each of his “why”, she answered. The lack of culture of this boy was abysmal… And his hygiene standards were close to none. This bothered her greatly, and she filed a D-Rank mission to get his apartment clean.

“This is so cool when you’re taking time with me, Kakashi-Sensei!” Naruto announced with embarrass, fingers scratching the back of his head.

Something tugs at her heart. Why did she had to care so much?

The first thing she noted about their client, is that he reeked alcohol. She was thankful that the mask hid her disgusted twitch. The fake smile she had practiced for infiltrations felt easy on her lips. The drunkard’s eyes looked her up and down, before they came to criticize her kids.

“You’re the guys I hired? A babysitter and three kids?”

“That would be us, yes!” Kakashi interrupted chirpily, preventing Naruto from saying anything stupid.

“I am Tazuna, the super bridge builder. I have a construction to finish in Wave country and you’re accompanying me there. I’ll need protection until I finish the contract.”

Kakashi’s smile almost faltered. Wave Country? But Kiri was close enough, wasn’t it? Besides, there was a lot of criminal activity there, perfect to sell bounties… The kind of places their target was likely to visit. Even more likely if they were causing some ruckus there.

“Kakashi-Sensei? Why did Konoha receive Tazuna-Sans’s request? Don’t they have ninjas in Wave Country?” Sakura asked on the way.

So, Kakashi improvised a course on the current geopolitics. In the Academy, the students received an education on the history of the Fire Country, but they were not given many details about the other countries. It was something that dated from the previous wars: it was easier to spread false information about another country if you didn’t know much to begin with. Ninjas were tools who took missions for the sake of the nobles and other clients in their countries and allied countries.

She must have been a better orator than she expected because her charges were listening to her every words. Kakashi found it cute somehow. She felt a pang of regret in her chest. She didn’t want to care about them. And after all, weren’t they just bait for some man wearing her dead’s best friend face?

It was at that moment that the two ninjas shadowing them finally sprung their trap. She let everything follow as expected. Either one of her kids was their target, and Jiraya had been wrong about this whole story. Or the target was herself: rumors had circulated about her gender for years, and there was practically no official mission without a challenge from a man who thought she did not get there with her strength alone. Or the target could be their client: he was the one requesting protection from Konoha, but his C-Rank pay could not cover the expenses coming from a B-Rank mission.

They were two ninjas working in sync, a metal gauntlet linked by a saw chain. Ignoring my urges to escape their hold, I let it curl around my body and let it bite in my clothes. The moment they tugged harder, I replaced myself by a log layered by a Genjutsu. Various exclamations followed my gory illusion, and they plunged on Naruto next. Way before his teammates, Sasuke jumped and pinned the chain to the tree to a well-aimed shuriken and secured the hold with a kunai. Then he landed on their metal gauntlets.

Kakashi looked at the other kids. Sakura immediately assumed a protection stance before their client. Smart kid. She had made her priorities. However, her frail body would not stand against an attack. These guys were probably Chuunin. Kakashi noticed that the eyes of the girl were wide, and despite her fears, she had noticed the disappearance of her body.

The Chuunin freed themselves and circled around Naruto. His stance was so bad and he looked so out of it… Claws sunk in the boy’s hand. Kakashi felt a pang of guilt. She had let these inexperienced kids on the field for her personal reasons. She squashed the feeling. They would make it. Their inexperience with her mistake would get her out of this assigned (bait) team.

Before any of the enemies could connect, she moved and neutralized them.

“I apologize for not intervening before you got injured Naruto. I wanted to see two things. One, I wanted to see how you three faired in the face of danger, with only D-Rank missions under your belt. I am pleasantly surprised. We will debrief this later. As for the other… Tazuna-San was targeted by these two Kiri Chuunin. Even without the political repercussions his missions can have on our village, this attack was not a coincidence. C-Rank missions only concerns minor menaces such as thieves and bandits. This means that you probably lied during briefing to reduce the price.”

Sakura also underlined the need of anesthetics and medical supplies to treat Naruto’s wound. Kakashi did not mention she had all the necessary materials with her (in Rin’s gift, always renewed). She would rather not have to go near Kiri and play right into Jiraya’s hand.

And she did not want to chance a meeting with _that guy who wore Obito’s face_.

She looked at the two guys she had neutralized. She would have to ask about them too. Flipping through the latest issue of the Bingo Book, she was at least reassured by one thing: the demon brother’s were amongst Kiri deserters. Since the village suffered from political disturbances, many of their loyal ninjas had decided to start a solo carrier.

And then Naruto did the stupid thing of taking advantage of his Uzumaki blood (or Kyuubi’s abilities) for recovery and made a stupid promise of getting better, of not needing anyone to save him, of not being paralyzed. The determination in his blue eyes made Kakashi flinch. She was seeing ghosts beside him. She was the reason he failed.

‘Minato-Sensei, Kushina-Nee, I’m sorry I failed your son…’

As she bandaged the kid’s hand, Kakashi knew how Jiraya, and Iruka, knew they could play her. She still had a heart, and it beat in her chest at the most incongruous moments…

She knew their fate would forever be entwined the moment Naruto detected a movement in the bushes near them. Kakashi was almost blinded by his throw, missing where their observer had left. No smell residing on the animal helped her locate them either. On the other hand, she was now sure they were now under a way bigger threat than two Chuunin. And that was very daunting with a Genin team who could not deal with minor threats alone.

“Get down!” she yelled. A giant sword soared through the air and embedded itself on a nearby trunk.

It had to be one of the Seven Swordsmen. With an ANBU team, or alone, she could have engaged him right the second he landed, but the kids were counting on her.

“You three regroup and protect the client. I’ll have to use more dire means against this opponent.” She said, not letting her doubts transpire through her voice.

“Oh? Isn’t that Sharingan no Kakashi? They send you on escort missions with kids these days?” The enemy taunted. “Give me the old man, I don’t have time to fight you.”

She nodded at him, recognizing her title. Sasuke flinched, but she said nothing. Instead, she looked at the man, ready to engage a little conversation. Either he was trying to buy time, or he really didn’t want to fight her. Their adversary was a shirtless tall man, with camouflage loose pants and armbands. He too wore a Kiri headband. His irises were very pale, almost a transparent blue. This feature and pointy teeth confirmed he was from Water country.

"You’re planning on using your Sharingan against me? I’m even more flattered than seeing you in person. You’re prettier than that old teenager photo they keep in Bingo Books.”

“Ne ne! What’s Sharingan?” Naruto exclaimed, immediately prompting an explanation from Sasuke.

“The Sharingan is a Dôjutsu, a special eye that can analyze any attack, whether it’s Taijutsu, Ninjutsu or Genjutsu and counter it.” The other boy explained.

“Not only that. She can use this eye to copy these techniques. Back when I was in Kiri’s special ops, I read that you learned more than 1 000 techniques.”

“You came here to teach my kids, Zabuza?” Kakashi deadpanned.

“I thought I would chat a while before I kill the old man. But since you’re in my way, I suppose I’ll have to take care of you first Kakashi. And since we’re already on a first name basis…”

He disappeared from his perch. She raised my guard and a kunai, struggling against the broad hit he landed.

“…why don’t I take you out for a spin?”

They exchanged some other words and hits, seizing their opponent. She knew he was good the moment her eyes had landed on him, and she remembered most of the data about him. But knowing and experiencing it were two different things.

“Not many women in the wild I suppose.” she said conversationally.

“Not of your caliber. Too bad I’m not here for a mock fight. It could have been fun.”

He landed on the pond nearby without a sound. Three handsigns later and he disappeared in the mist. Not used to explain everything, Kakashi turned to her team, telling them about the Ninjutsu Zabuza had just used. And if they weren’t spooked enough, the man let the fog thicken. Suddenly he was muttering from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, or maybe was it just outside Kakashi’s ear. She refused to get unhinged by pitiful tricks. She felt the illusion layered in the mist and dispelled her with her chakra. It was her killing intent against his.

Sasuke’s teeth clattered behind her. She turned to her kids.

“Don’t worry! I won’t let you get hurt.” She said with a smile.

Just to contradict her, Zabuza appeared in the midst of their group, ready to strike their client. Guided by her Sharingan, she threw herself at Zabuza, ordering the Genin as she would untrained dogs. They were scattered by their fight. Her blade entered easily between two ribs. Water spurted from the wound. Wait. Water? Naruto yelled a warning, but it was useless. After all, she was also a Clone…

Her blade rested against the chest of the other Zabuza. She would have aimed for his throat, but he was too tall. It was over. She inched her blade towards his femoral artery when he chuckled. Another Zabuza appeared from behind her in the mist. She just had the time to stab his clone when he raised his sword. Crouching under his swing with her guard up, wary of other clones coming her way or the kid’s, she didn’t anticipate the moment he blocked his blade and used it as a support to deliver a kick to her chest.

She flew right to the pond, and right inside the water prison that was waiting for her.

“I got you!” Zabuza singsongued. “I’ll deal with you later.”

“Kakashi-Sensei!” Naruto yelled and I saw his muscles ripple.

“Don’t engage him! Flee with Tazuna and complete the mission. I’ll follow you.”

Zabuza’s clone that wall holding me prisoner gave me an unimpressed look. Kakashi replied with one of her own. Having the kids around tamed her, it seems. She’ll pop his measly prison like a soap bubble and slit his throat…

Of course, Naruto was not the brightest kid in the bunch. But his heart was in the right place. She did not think he would risk his life for his shitty teacher, but he did. Once again, Zabuza decided to scare them away instead of fighting. She wondered if he had gotten soft over the years as well. It almost worked. But they set up the most improbable plan, and suddenly there was no clone holding her in a water cell… Unless it was the real deal? She was not sure. She just swam.

The fuuma shuriken Zabuza got from Sasuke never reached her student. The metal plate on the back of her hand was sliced by the blades. Unruly locks of silver hair escaped her bun, cascading around her face. Her Sharingan spun, catching the unaware angry man in a subtle illusion. Chakra was running away from her eye. Just like the other day with Itachi, she felt the pull. Something was wrong with her Sharingan.

“Back-off Zabuza!” She snarled, ready to tear his throat.

He felt the change in her demeanor, for he disengaged. His hands and hers, almost in sync, formed all the signs of that technique they both knew by heart. On his side and on hers, a water dragon erupted, half from the pond, half from their chakra. It was a fight for dominance, but also a calculated cost on her part. It would leave them with less chakra, and with all the techniques he used… There were great chances for a chakra exhaustion. And just as she managed to pin him to a tree and see the fear in his eyes… A senbon embedded itself in the missing nin’s neck, and he was no more.

It was a child the age of hers, (when did they become _her kids_?) standing on a nearby tree. Gracefully, he landed before his victim. Naruto yelled something rude. She did not want to fight a Kiri ANBU, even if they looked like a child.

Why? Simply because her Sharingan would not stop spinning and burning chakra like crazy. She rarely used it in battle these days, keeping it covered. Obito’s gift cost her greatly… The team let the boy leave with Zabuza’s corpse.

Just as they departed, her body crumbled, just as some voice called her name.

She did not know how long she was out, but she made a strange dream. Chakra exhaustion did that sometimes to people. They had arrived on a wooden house built on water. They left her to sleep in a room while Sakura babbled about chakra exhaustion. She just saw the curtains move from her half-closed lids, like a movie that would never end. There was a man crouching on the windowsill, clad in regular black ninja clothes and a silly orange mask the side of his head. He was saying something with a soft voice, but she was too groggy to hear. He walked to the side of her futon and sat, a curious expression on his face. She should have yelled or be afraid, but she was not. Slowly, he approached his hand and let it rest on her covered cheek, stroking the old scar. Then, he almost curled against her, his head resting uncomfortably against her shoulder and the side of her neck. It took her time to notice that he was crying.

When she woke up from the dream, her cheeks were strained with tears.


	4. Chapter 4

Kakashi grumbled. She had been dreaming… She focused a bit of chakra in her nose, sharpening her senses. She smelled something earthy that reminded her of Tenzo’s Mokuton, but with something smokey, with an undertone of rich chocolate. And the saltiness of tears. Their tears.

She sat up in her bed. A man was here. The man with the orange mask. The one who wore Obito’s face. Her heart was beating against her ribcage like a trapped bird.

“Why are you looking so spooked?” a croaky voice asked on her left.

There was a toad and a crow on her bedside the moment she awoke.

“You two…” she hissed. “You set me up!”

Suddenly her head was swimming, and it took a while for the world to stop spinning. She remembered all the details of the man on the windowsill. He was talking and looking at her. He looked so sad… His eyes… The right one was open on a spinning Sharingan, the other was closed. Closed over an empty orbit.

Her given eye was itching.

“Did you make contact?” the toad asked.

She looked around them. There was a silence seal written on the batrachian’s back. She sighed. Less chances of being heard that way. So, both Jiraya-Sama and Itachi-San were asking about her whereabouts.

“I made contact with the man. He entered this house a few hours ago, if I can judge from the light.”

“He did left Kiri about that time. He was gone for an hour.”

“Did he say anything?” the crow asked.

“I don’t know…” Kakashi wanted to curl on herself. Who was that man? He could have killed her, but he just laid there… He just laid there and cried on her, muttering words she was to tired to hear. “But I’m quite convinced it was Uchiha Obito.”

“Did he do anything to you?” the toad asked then.

“I don’t think so.” Kakashi send a wave of chakra through her body. Nothing seemed wrong. “He could have hurt me, but he didn’t.”

“Please don’t hesitate to tell us if he… took advantage of your diminished state.” The bird sounded embarrassed to spout such ideas. Kakashi closed her eyes. She hadn’t been touched by a man in quite a while. She would have known if anyone had…

“No.” she whispered. “He did no such thing. He just cried.”

“Cried?” the crow asked and cocked his head to the side. “This will sound strange, but Itachi-Sama asked me whether he had had both eyes open and not.

“The right one. The one on his injured side was open.” She said without hesitation.

There was a time with silence. Then the toad ordered her to send a summon to Jiraya-Sama if another contact was made with this man. She nodded groggily. The moment the animals disappear, she felt a buzz around her, as if she had unplugged her ears. A few seconds later, her door opened to a woman about her age carrying a plate.

“Oh, you’re awake! I’m Tsunami, Tazuna’s daughter.”

“Hatake Kakashi. Sorry to impose.”

“That’s quite alright. I heard you saved my father from two ninja attacks.”

She left the plate near her. With sluggish moves, Kakashi helped herself to the simple fish and rice dish. It was fresh from the sea. Simple and tasty. She hated the feeling after getting chakra exhaustion. Worse than a hangover.

“Kakashi-Sensei’s awake!” Naruto yelled from the corridor.

“Inner voice, you idiot!” Sakura hissed back.

The three Genin entered the room. Tsunami made a little polite bow. Kakashi heard her soft padding across the wooden deck. When she was far enough, she gestured to her supplies pouch and asked them to place a silence seal on the door. After a hesitance, Sakura slapped the paper and send a bit of chakra inside it. A discreet hum surrounded them.

“Okay, I’ll assume this is the first time you’re using this, guys. This is a silence seal. You’ve probably used exploding tags and knock-out tags already. This seal is designed to make an area where our conversation cannot be heard. Hear that little buzz? That’s all people around will hear from us. Of course, there are ways to circumvent this seal, especially since we’re only using one, but it will be enough for the civilians around, or the occasional bandits around here. I assume you’ve set a perimeter?”

“Yes. Naruto and I checked for direct threats in and outside the house.” Sasuke said.

“I even set traps!” the blonde chirped.

“Sakura?” Kakashi prompted.

“I took care of you and installed our gear here.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing. Not that I don’t believe in you guys, but we’ve been dealing with threats a little bit more important than your usual bandits. And I think our friend Zabuza isn’t as dead as he ought to be.”

“Don’t worry Sensei, I transformed a few shadow clones all around here in insects, and rocks and twigs. They’d tell me if someone went through!”

“Oh, that’s beyond what I’d expect for Genin. And quite ingenious.” Traps and ingenious plans? Maybe there was something they could do with that little guy, even though there were a lot of mistakes to correct in his stance.

As Naruto was scratching his nose, hiding that large grin that bloomed for the praise he received, Kakashi made some hand signs. Sasuke pouted by his side. He was probably expecting praise as well. In a puff of smoke, Pakkun appeared in the room. Sakura cooed. Kakashi tried not to cringe at the noise.

“Yo, Kakashi! You don’t look well, you know?” the dog said.

“Chakra exhaustion.” She said. “Anyway, Pakkun meet team seven. Team seven this is my dog summon Pakkun.”

“He can talk!” Naruto exclaimed.

“So, can you, and I should be the more surprised” Pakkun replied a bit put out.

“Hey! Sensei, your summon is mean!”

“Pakkun, I’m going to need you to brink the others for me, since I’m low on chakra. I’ll need you to take turns between setting a perimeter and training the kids.”

“Training us?” Sakura sounded suspicious. “Sensei, you never trained us before.”

“I thought you guys would cover that on your own outside our D-Ranks.” Kakashi lied easily, because this one had been on her. “Anyways, since you depend a lot on me, but I can’t train you myself… I’m trying to come out with ingenious plans. I will be out for a week, and I’m quite sure Zabuza will be as well. So, in the meantime I’ll have to get some training into you.”

She looked at them. Time to get some debriefing done. She looked at the last Uchiha remaining in Konoha.

“Sasuke, you’re the most experimented on this team. Whether it’s in Taijutsu or Ninjutsu, your level is what is expected of a seasoned Genin. Your Genjutsu is lacking, but you should get better once you can use your Sharingan. Your biggest problem on a personal level is your lack of chakra control. Regarding team dynamics, you still play solo a lot… You did protect Sakura during the first fight, and you partnered with Naruto, but it is not enough. I know you like to play solo, and in other times, you’d have soared through the ranks. But you will need to rely on them.”

Sasuke nodded. She noted that he seemed conflicted over trusting more on his teammates. She made a note to get a solo conversation with him.

“Sakura, you are a textbook ninja. You do everything by heart, but if you haven’t noticed it yet: it is worth nothing on an actual battlefield. Your Taijutsu is under average, and it is probably both from a lack of practice and the fact that your eating habits are not good. From day 1, I noticed that you have been limiting your calories intake, and you will need them if you want to get enough muscles. Your Genjutsu is good because you noticed my illusion when we fought the demon brothers. I don’t think you have any Ninjutsu under your belt, but that’s normal with your level, however it will put you at a disadvantage if you fight against your teammates. Regarding teamwork, you’ll need to impose yourself. It’s not because Sasuke impresses you, or that Naruto is loud, that you have to keep quiet. Our team is made of damage dealer that will probably endanger themselves. Try to find your place between us, because you are not here to observe.”

The girl blushed and turned her head away. She had probably been expecting something else from being in a team with her crush.

“As for you Naruto, I don’t know where to begin. Everything is out of balance with you. You have good muscles and reflexes, but your stances are wrong and ineffective. Your chakra is all over the place, yet you’ve mastered the Kage Bunshin technique, which is a hard technique with a great chakra output. You have an inventive mind, but you only use your brains when damage is already done. Quite like Sasuke, you’re playing solo or never considered to include Sakura in your plans. If you don’t master the basics, you won’t go far. So, we’ll have to teach you everything all over again.”

Naruto managed to convey a bored gaze, while puffing his cheeks in annoyance.

She asked them to help her up and take off the tag. They wouldn’t stand a chance against Zabuza and his help by themselves, but if they planned this right… Outside the house, she could hear her dogs running around, quite happy to get some exercise in a new environment. Sakura managed to produce a pair of crutches for her. Kakashi lead them to a clearing near Tazuna’s house.

“First assignment guys: you’re going to climb these trees.” She said.

“What?! And here I thought you were going to give us a real training!”

Kakashi looked at the pug that accompanied them. Sighing dramatically, Pakkun walked up to a trunk… and kept walking on the vertical surface as if it was a horizontal plane. The dog went up, and up and up, until it reached a branch and sat on it.

“What the… Kakashi-Sensei! Your dog…! He just walked on that tree!”

“Since Naruto does not master the basics, and Sasuke is wasting his chakra, I thought an exercise of chakra control would be nice for the team. With a better chakra control you can more easily do Ninjutsu and avoid wasting it.”

“And avoid chakra exhaustion!” the pug added and Kakashi huffed in annoyance.

She expected this would keep them occupied for a while, so that she could go back to her own devices (like sleeping and reading erotica). It worked… but only with the boys who both fell for not putting the right amount of energy. Sakura got everything right the first time.

“This is surprisingly easy.” She said with an incredulous laugh.

“Hum…” Kakashi said pensively. “I’ll give you something more difficult.”

The next moment, the girl was walking across the little pond near the house as if she had done that all her life. She was a natural with chakra. Good to know. Kakashi had not expected that. She started thinking of giving a bone to chew to the little pink girl. Proper Taijutsu classes would have to wait she felt better. She looked at the tight qipao dress on Sakura. And more sensible clothes. She looked at the bright orange sweater on Naruto. Maybe they will make it a team thing.

“By the way, you promised we could play a little” her summon reminded her.

“Oh yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

Kakashi looked at how frail Sakura was, as she explained to her teammates how to regulate and redirect chakra in the sole of their feet. They seemed to get better. A bit. Kakashi brought two fingers to her lips and gave a loud whistle. All three Genins jumped. The next minute, eight dogs were lined up before Kakashi. All of them looked very nice in their little blue jacket. Kakashi wondered if she could give matched ones to her new charges. Pakkun grinned at her from Bull’s head, a tiny pug on a giant black bulldog.

“Okay, Sasuke and Naruto, keep working with these trees. Guys this girl is Sakura, and she’s going to play with you.”

“I am?” she asked.

“For real?” Urushi barked, doubt in his voice.

“Don’t pull our leg, Kakashi” Shiba sighed.

“Guys, do you have so little faith on me?” Kakashi sighed dramatically.

“Yes.” Bisuke said.

“I don’t. But I’m used to you playing tricks on us” Akino remarked.

“I don’t either.” Ūhei declared faithfully.

“Let’s play a game!” Guruko exclaimed.

“All the non-believers will go back to perimeter duty. That’s for being so mean to me.” Kakashi said. “For all the others… Sakura, come here.”

She trotted to her Sensei; face scrunched in incomprehension. Behind her Naruto seemed to consider this ‘new version of Kakashi-Sensei’ weird and too gleeful to be trusted. When Sakura was close enough, Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. She put on a serious face.

“Sakura…”

“Yes!?” The girl tensed, and so did the dogs.

“You’re ‘it’.”

A moment later, the dogs scattered across the forest with joyous barks. Ūhei let the bewildered Genin chase him for a few minutes before another took his place. Soon enough, she was running around and tumbling across bushes. She’ll be fine.

“Okay guys, I’ll go back to sleep! Tell me if one of you gets injured.”

She slept a few hours after that. The next ones she spent looking at the ceiling, thinking hard. Outside, she heard a splash when her pack managed to get Sakura running on the pond. The girl gave a few shrieks of frustrations. It made Kakashi laugh. A lifetime ago, she had been on that same position.

A lifetime ago when her friend had been alive… A lifetime ago when they had already killed other kids their age. She wished she could spare her own team, but it sounded unlikely.

When the night came, she decided to go for a light sleep. On the futon across hers, Sakura was lying on the floor, her pink hair tangled and bruises across her skin. Tsunami made sure all of them ate a full meal and had a refreshing bath, despite the limited income of their family. Kakashi just waited, her eyes on the windowsill. As if _he_ was going to show up again.

Something _itched_ in her chest, annoying her. She decided to go for a walk. One of the dogs was probably awake at the time. They would bark if anything happened.

She realized she wanted something to happen.

Under the moon, the land was surreal. With slow steps, she navigated on the wooden decks and at the end of one. Kakashi looked at her reflection floating on the water. Clad in a simple yukata with practically no weapons, her grey hair in a loose bun, she didn’t look like herself at all.

A swirl. A burst of chakra. A scent… She sensed him at the same time she saw something appear behind her double on the water. She was much too slow. He crouched behind her, holding her wrists. His hold was firm, and she knew she would not be able to break it. She also knew he had layered an illusion around them the moment he landed.

“Don’t move.” He said. On the water her eyes caught his. Both were open this time. The left one was… strange. A pale opalescent color with circular marks. Another Dôjutsu?

“What do you want?” she asked curtly.

“In general? Many things. Right now, I’m chasing the past.” He said.

His arms closed around her and she felt his heat through her clothes. A shiver went up her back. She was vulnerable! But why wasn’t he attacking? Why was he just holding her…? She could feel the steady rhythm of his breath on the side of her neck, where his face was buried.

“This has to be a dream…” she muttered to herself.

“Do you want this to be a dream?” he asked.

She was too spooked already. She was afraid that her mind had already decided on an answer, an emotional and dangerous answer.

“I wish this was a dream too.” He muttered, “but this is the reality. But don’t worry too much, I’ll make you a better dream soon.”

Her eyes found his again, and the expression on his face froze her to the core. This devoted expression did not belong on Obito’s face. Whether this was the real deal, or someone was playing with her on purpose, it frightened her. She had not been afraid for a long, long time.

“When is the last time you dreamt of the future, Kakashi?” he asked. “You’ve always been tortured by your past. You’re hurting inside, I know that.”

“How?” she muttered. She never spoke of her nightmares, except with Inoichi.

“A long time ago when I thought you were just a princess waiting to be saved. Mina was your name and you had brown hair and golden eyes.”

Another shiver shook her body. He tightened his hold around her, even sitting on the deck and letting his legs dangle on each side of hers. How could he know about Mina? She rarely used that cover, and even rarely had to give it a name. Either he had looked things about her, or…

There was no “or”. Obito was dead. Buried under the stone near Kannabi bridge.

“She’s still inside you, this princess. Too afraid to care about the people around you because they might disappear, and a part of your heart might vanish with it…”

His hands combed through her hair, taking off every Senbon she had hidden inside and throwing them away. Each needle thrown on the water made a little noise when it sunk.

“I wonder how much of you vanished with me when I was gone?” he muttered against the side of her throat, and she understood she wasn’t just prisoner of his arms, but also of eyes. “And how much you’ll want back after all this time…”

His hands went more adventurous on the sides of her face, brushing the skin up the mask. His touch burned her. She could not move.

“You’re not real. Nothing of this is real.” She said, straining against the edges of the illusion, but never finding where it began and where it ended.

“Aaah, so this would be just a dream of yours?” he muttered. “A silly dream of you and I under the moon.”

His tone made her shiver once more. He brushed the locks that hid the Sharingan out of view. Both hers and his pulsed in sync, as if part of a whole. She gathered some chakra in it, straining against his illusion once more. But this eye just syphoned her energy and nothing happened. Her head was getting dizzy.

He tutted in disapproval, like mocking a child. A smile strained his lips, too big. His pupils looked blown.

“Stop resisting Kakashi and enjoy the dream. Enjoy having me here, just like you enjoyed having me inside your head for all these years… Dream for me, my dear, as I’m going to dream the entire world anew. Can you imagine? A world where your loved ones are waiting for you. A world of peace where your little students would not have to learn to kill. A world where no one tells you to marry and bear children for the next generation of soldiers…”

Her heart was beating like crazy in her chest. She didn’t know what she thought nor what she felt. His deep voice was muttering in her ear, etching a future that did not exist. He described the way Rin would take over the hospital, taking care of Kakashi’s parents in their old age, and delivering a baby girl to Minato-Sensei and her wife. He described how the Uchiha clan was respected and watched over all, ninjas and civilian, with a smile on her face. And he described how happy she felt of having her belly round, with a child waiting to be born.

Kakashi didn’t know her left from her right. Her world was spinning. Someone was holding against their chest. His heat burned her to the core. She didn’t know when the dream morphed into reality, or if it was the reality who became the dream.

Under the eerie moonlight, a dead boy cried against her neck, muttering prayers and excuses.

The next day, she woke up in her futon with a toad and a crow on her bedside.

“Did he do something to you?” Was one of their questions.

They thought of assault, maybe of the sexual kind. But he had done nothing more than wrapping her in his heat and layers of dreams that felt too good to be true. Her entire being felt raw. He had done nothing to her, but she felt worse than if he had touched her. Deep whispers echoed in her ears, his tears straining her mask.

Something ugly was sewing stitches across her soul. Part of her was begging for more.


	5. Chapter 5

“Let me get this clear. We have to protect you until this bridge is built, or until Gatô isn’t a threat anymore.” Kakashi stated as they were all sitting in Tazuna’s living room.

“Correct. But I doubt you can do anything. We have no money to get more forces around here, while Gatô controls the local underworld and can hire ninjas like the one we’ve fought.”

In other words, the forces of Gatô had yet to be estimated. Kakashi didn’t believe the word of civilians. To them, people like herself or Zabuza were attainable. The local city had no notable protection. They would just need a top dog or two, and local thugs, and everyone would get in line.

“I don’t like the idea of waiting for Zabuza to attack again. They want to kill you because you’re the only one with the knowledge of building bridges.”

“It’s a very big construction. No commoner can do that, alright.” The man said.

“What I mean, is that it’s not just a question of waiting for the bridge to be built. Even after that, it can be destroyed with explosives, or Gatô can still take control of it.”

She remembered a similar mission. Three Genin placing charges to cut a supply road during the war. A dreadful mission, who’s ghosts had decided to come and hunt her.

“Had I been in a better shape, and if you had paid the correct price, my answer would be to assassinate or incapacitate Gatô.”

Team seven stopped eating and innocent eyes looked at Kakashi. Tsunami-San flew he room with her four-year-old son, and the elder man choked on a mouthful of rice. Kakashi gritted her teeth. She always forgot they were extremely young, and this mission had escalated quickly. She had not killed the demon brothers before her, and her combat against Zabuza had been rather cordial.

She would tell no word about why they were here and had been chosen. But the faster they went, the better it was for her sanity.“ _I’m going to dream the entire world anew_ ,” he said. She did not want to stick around and know what it meant. And now that they knew she had caught his interest, there was no need to bring the kids into it.

“Listen kids, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Our situation is bad. I send a message to Konoha, but it is likely that they either send no reinforcement, or that they come only by the time I’m recovered and Zabuza too. And in a week, there’s no way I can put you up to par with Zabuza. I couldn’t assess his help’s number, but we’re going to assume he’s Chuunin level at least.”

There was tension in the air. Kakashi had placed tags in different places in the house so they weren’t listened.

“Our priority will be Tazuna’s protection, since this is what we were paid for. But we can go above and beyond the mission parameters. I know you’ve been taught that the mission is everything. But I will tell you something else: those who abandon the mission are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.”

“Well said, Kakashi-Sensei!” Naruto cheered.

“What do you mean we’re going to go above and beyond the mission parameters?” Sasuke asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Tazuna grumbled.

Outside the problem with the real/fake Obito Uchiha, Kakashi had taken a bit of time to discuss the matter of the bridge with Jiraya-Sama. They both agreed that the construction had to take place, in order to strengthen Konoha’s holds near Kiri and better their economy. Besides, Gatô was only a civilian, his possessions would greatly compensate the rank up in their current mission.

“A protection against Chuunin and Jounin ranked ninjas is a B-Rank mission and should be carried out by a team of Chuunin. An assassination, and preferably a discreet one is an A or S ranked mission and will be reserved to special ops.”

“Are we really talking of killing someone?” Sakura asked.

“He’s a villain! He killed Tsunami’s husband in a public place!” Naruto shouted back. “He should pay for his crimes.”

“Murderers deserve to die.” Sasuke decided darkly, and she knew he thought of Itachi-San.

Kakashi sighed and swirled the tea left in her cup. She didn’t want to get them in that situation.

“Who deserves to die or not should not be our call. That makes us both the judge and party. But these difficult choices will probably part of your life as team seven. Given my own mission record, there will be high chances that our team will be given other missions like this one.” Kakashi explained. “I am authorized to make that call for you, should the need arise. But this would not be fair for you guys. Therefore, I am laying out the different choices we have here.”

“Either we continue the mission ‘as planned’. We wait for me to recover, and there will be another fight against Zabuza and his help, and potentially other ninjas or thugs sent by Gatô. In this case we will have to divide our team, as I don’t think Gatô will play fair. We need to keep Zabuza and his helped occupied, and protect Tazuna and his family, which will make four targets, and we are four. I know I can hold against Zabuza on my own, but none of you are strong enough to take on the fake hunter.”

Sasuke scoffed, clearly thinking that he was strong enough for that.

“You should be humbler Sasuke. A Chuunin for Kiri will have better abilities than yours in all areas. He’ll probably be a water user, and the humidity here will already hinder you, since you only know two fire-based jutsu.”

“Hah! You suck Sasuke!” Naruto snickered.

“Don’t be mean to Sasuke-Kun! Sasuke-Kun’s too cool to be slowed down by this.”

“Enough!”

Kakashi slammed her hand on the table, flaring chakra. This was for all this bickering she didn’t like kids. They looked apologetic.

“Seriously guys! I’m trying to treat you as adults and you’re being idiots.” Kakashi huffed.

“Sorry Sensei.” Naruto and Sakura said.

“I was out of line…” Sasuke bit out and crossed his arms.

“See? This is why I don’t want to get you inside this story, but you chose to continue the mission back when we were faced by the two Chuunin.”

“I held my ground against them!” Sasuke underlined.

“Wrong. You played solo and let a member of your team get injured. Had they been against you alone, you could have stalled them for a few minutes. There is something the three of you must understand. Ninjas play dirty. The more dangerous the mission will get, the more difficult decisions you will have to take. Ninja is not always about being a hero by rescuing a noble or protecting innocent people. But I digress. As I was saying, we can either follow the mission and keep protecting Tazuna and wait for Gatô to take his move. Or we can anticipate and make a plan to prevent Tazuna from being targeted. Gatô wants him dead because he has the skills the people here need to build this bridge.”

“So, if we take Gatô out, the mission will stop?” Sasuke summed up.

“But do we really have to kill him?” Sakura asked.

“And what about Zabuza and the other guy? And the other men working against Gatô? They’ll want revenge!” Naruto remarked wisely.

Tazuna was a bit bothered by the conversation. Kakashi thought it was probably because he had never thought he’d be talking about life and death with teenagers. Such was the world they lived in.

“If Gatô is not here, I don’t think his men will stay much longer. And if they do not, I’d say the death of this slimy bastard will be enough to motivate everyone here. He’s feared because people think he can’t be touched.”

“This is what I am aiming at. But that will work only if we work together. If we kill Gatô, and secure his funds, I expect that it will be enough to stir things here. However, like I said before, none of you have the proper training to perform this assassination, and my shape is not good enough to do it solo. So, if we do this, we’ll have to work together as a team.”

“I thought they were already too strong for us?” Sakura observed.

“They are too strong if we have to divide our efforts between fighting Zabuza, protecting Tazuna and protecting his family. What I’m suggesting, is to land an attack before Zabuza and I have the time to fully recover and eliminate Gatô. I want us to work as a team.”

“Why are you telling us all this if you think it is better?” Sasuke asked. “Shouldn’t this be your call?”

“I am asking you because this mission will probably change everything in your records, and especially yours Sakura.”

“Mine?”

“Since you’re not from a big clan, unlike these two, the expectations towards you aren’t high. Most teams split up after the first Chuunin exams. But if the higher ups see that you can perform high-level mission from an early stage, they’ll keep giving you these missions.”

“Good. The faster I can get strong, the better it is for me.” Sasuke decided.

“Me too! Me too! So, I’ll be the Hokage in no time!”

Kakashi sighed. Who was she to take these children on the same path she had followed for years? Who was she to decide they could just circumvent the mission parameter by killing the other party? A lousy captain. That was what she was. An avenger, a future Hokage and a girl with no name. With this path, they would get blood in their hands in to time. Kakashi did not know about hell and good intentions, but the path for a better future had always been paved by corpses.

“ _I’m going to dream the entire world anew_ ,” he said. Would it help cleaning the blood on her hands? Would it prevent her to drag children in the mud?

There was a sniff of fear in the air. She looked at Tazuna’s uneasy form and his blown eyes. With a sigh, she gestured to her team to leave outside. She was projecting a dark aura, her chakra singing darkly in her coils. She saw the flip flop of Naruto’s Adam’s apple, the tremble of Sakura’s members and the hair raised in the back of Sasuke’s neck. Dreaming a future for them, indeed…

“Do you remember what it felt to be in Zabuza’s mist?” she asked eerily as they walked the misty banks outside the house, looking at them flinch with a clinical eye. “Do you remember how he spooked you with the stories of his graduation?”

The atmosphere was heavy. For better measure, Kakashi let her chakra impregnate the mist and thicken it and isolating them from the outside world. And when the kids stopped seeing her, and seeing one another, Kakashi took a few silent steps. She felt her Sharingan spin but held on. She was not going this little fucker sucking her chakra dry. She had a lesson to teach.

“Did you know your Sensei might be as bad as him?” she muttered and felt their hearts beat in their chest, fluttering pulses making the side of their neck tremble.

Because ninja life hardened Kakashi. And if life wanted her to care once more, then she’ll have to prepare their little hearts for the hardness of ninja life. They could still choose to remain soft and innocent. She never could make that choice, but she could give it to them.

“I’m the one who taught your aniki all the manners to plunge a katana in a body.” She muttered to Sasuke’s ear.

“I held the heart of a girl in my hand, and I crushed it to save the village.” She told Sakura.

“I fought a war alongside the Yondaime: he was the most efficient killer I ever seen.” She told Naruto.

When she released the mist and the illusion, all three were shaking and crying, their hearts torn out. I saw betrayal in their eyes.

“I am far from being a perfect Sensei, and as you saw for yourself, I am not invincible. I will protect you and raise you to be better ninjas. But better ninja means killing people and getting stained.” She told them. “Going above and beyond the parameters of this mission, means I will surely drag you on the same path I am. So, how we are going to handle this mission will be up to you.”

“Kakashi-Sensei… That’s horrible…” Sakura sobbed.

“You… and that man…” Sasuke muttered

“I… I will find a way! You’ll see Kakashi-Sensei. When I’m Hokage…!” Naruto huffed, and she saw determined gleam in his baby blue eyes.

She was suddenly remembered of a younger Obito in his stance. He used to be a dreamer… “ _I’m going to dream the entire world anew_ ,” he said, but what did it even mean?

“Keep up with today tree walking boys. Sakura, you’re in guard duty.” Kakashi ordered with her best Captain voice, and her charges straightened. “We will talk later tonight.”

Kakashi walked back to the house, straining against the sedate pace imposed by her chakra exhaustion. Ignoring the bustling of Tsunami-San around her house and the innocent games Inari started with Pakkun, she sat cross-legged in the house and started meditating.

She found the point where her breathing was just a lull, and she was floating between disparate thoughts. She felt calm, way too calm for someone who had just traumatized a bunch of kids. Was she a bad teacher for offering them that choice? Should she leave them ambling innocently in this pseudo C-rank with a Swordsman lurking around?

She was disgusting them from ever being ninjas. That is what she was doing! She wasn’t offering them a choice between the light and the dark path; she was just slamming the door of their innocence shut. But what could she do? She was just friend killer Kakashi, a girl who got her best features from letting her comrades die one by one.

There was a man on the windowsill. She did not need to open her eyes to guess who that was.

He came here again? Well, she would let him look at her his heart content. Jiraya-Sama and Itachi-San wanted her to make him talk. She had to evaluate the threat he presented and apprehend him if necessary. Now that she called for reinforcements, she’d have to keep stalling this man.

He took a breath, as if he wanted to say something. She opened her eyes. Only his Sharingan was visible, his other eye was closed. The expression on his face was stricken. Somehow, it suited Obito better than the crazed smile and the blown pupils.

“Hey…” he said finally.

“Hey?” she replied a heartbeat later.

“You look…” he vaguely gestured at her body. “You look better.”

“And you look more composed.”

Neither was he crying on her, nor was he speaking about dreams. Even his voice sounded different. He closed his eye for a while and took a deep breath. He opened the same eye again, and it was just a dark Uchiha eye looking at her.

A thousand questions were dancing on the tip of her tongue.

“How?” was the one who made its way to her lips.

“I was saved by a tree.” He replied.

“A... tree?”

“It’s hard to explain…” he stressed. She half expected him to bounce on his feet. Obito would have done it. He had always been dancing around when he was struggling to explain something.

“Maaah, I’m listening.” She said.

She should have been spooked. She should have been wary of him. But this one occurrence was so much more Obito-ish… (And she had a mission). So she shoved all her doubts in the darkest corners of her mind and tapped a spot near hers; Her kids were away, and none of the house inhabitants were about to come here anyways.

He sat by her side, too far to touch, enough for the heat to rise. His smell of trees and smoke and charcoal and roasted chocolate beans filled her nose. She could not help the flutter in her chest. She could not help the melancholia in her head or the tears itching in her eyes.

He was not looking at her. They looked at the fluffy white clouds gliding on the blue sky in silence before he decided to talk again.

“It’s hard to explain… Sometimes it is a tree, and sometimes it is just an urge. Sometimes it is me, and sometimes it isn’t…”

“I think you lost me here.”

“Lost… That is the word. I’m… lost.”

She felt the strange need to lean on him and place her head on his shoulder. Just like she had done when she was Mina the princess pouring her heart to an over friendly ninja named Obito.

“I…” she said after another silence and didn’t dare looking at him. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” he asked, and his tone sliced deep in her heart.

“About Rin.”

Her grey eye looked in his black eye. A bravado. She was shaking like a leaf. He had never seemed so serious, even that day he told her she had been worse than scum from abandoning Rin for the sake of the mission.

He tore away from her and sped towards the window. But as she thought he would fly away and never return; he took a sharp turn a crazy smile on his lips. His eyes were both open, irises surreal in reds and blacks and violets and stripes.

“Yessssss… What about Rin, indeed?” he stressed, and his voice send tremors inside of her.

Once again, she was unable to move, captivated by something in him. Something beyond her grasp.

“Don’t we love Rin?”

Obito (?) glided towards her, and he crouched in front of her. Even like that it seemed to her that he was towering. Too dark and too tall. His silhouette eating the light. Cold sweat ran down her back.

He put a hand against the wall, backing her up. His uncovered face hovered near hers.

“Tell me…” he muttered, and his breath was brushing her lips. “Tell me about Rin…”

“I… I said…” Kakashi blurted. Her voice was so squeaky.

“Aaaaah, precious Kakashi, at loss for words. She knows nothing, does she?”

His voice floated sickly around her, reverberating against her bones. She hated how she felt, powerless and full of fears. What was he doing to her? His fingers ran down her hair, like he would with a wild animal.

“I have memories of you in this head. Kakashi the fearless. Kakashi the unattainable. Beautiful Kakashi. So strong, so independent… So fragile.”

His fingers suddenly pressed against her throat, no longer petting her. Her pulse fluttered against the pads of his fingers. He flexed them, threatening.

“I could rip your throat, right here, right now. So, what about Rin?” he asked again, and she heard the hint of a desperate sob in his voice.

He frowned. Shook his head. Cleared his voice.

“Aaaah, better.” He commented to himself, before focusing again on Kakashi. “Rin. We were talking about Rin. I loved Rin. But she’s not there anymore. How about we dream her too? What do you think Kakashi?”

What the…? His crazy words rolled inside her. Dreaming the world? Dreaming Rin?

“We could… We totally could! I’ll make sure to have a place for Rin when I dream the world anew.”

Then, he seemed to notice that he was still holding Kakashi’s throat and curled his fingers in the fabric of her mask. It slid down her face. He looked at her, like fascinated. In the red of his Sharingan, her reflection was frozen. As if she was outside her body again, she felt him approach her again.

“But for the meantime, you could be a lovely replacement…” not-Obito muttered against her skin.

His lips bruised her there, strong. Just on the juncture of neck and her shoulder. Right where he had cried before. His mouth was burning, sucking on the skin. He was _devouring_ her. He nipped the abused flesh. His tongue left a soothing trail on her neck.

She moaned. She closed her eyes. And then…

“Kakashi-Sensei wake up!” Naruto yelled.

Kakashi blinked. She was sitting crossed-legged, her chakra reserves doing great after her meditation. She stirred. Had she been dreaming.

“What is it Naruto?” she asked, keeping her doubts and fears under a tight lock.

“I found an answer for you” he said and his stubborn tone was _exactly_ Obito’s at his age.

“Well, I’m listening.”

“I don’t want to put the team in danger by waiting Zabuza to be up again. So, because you said we lacked information and we should be independent and all, I went spying on them.”

He… He what? She saw the rest of the team coming in the room and siding with the blonde. Had this been a team effort?

“You know these clones I made for the perimeter? Well, they found where Gatô was hiding. He’s in a bunker, and he has two guys with katanas always with him. Zabuza and the other guy weren’t there. These guys sounded like they are not even ninjas.”

“Sakura a Genjutsu to sneak us in and we followed him. We saw where the others are hiding. There’s like twenty people at best. They never saw us.”

“So… if you’re up for it, we could go above and beyond the mission.” Sakura suggested. “It’s not heavily guarded, and they are all cramped in the same common room. I mean, if you had a jutsu or something to affect all of them, and make them sleep…”

Kakashi blinked. They did what?

“Okay guys, I think we’ll have a talk about ‘going above and beyond’… But uh… Good job?”

Kakashi thought she had a team of heavy hitters and Sakura… But maybe she had been wrong? Slowly, she got her gears turning again.

“Okay, let’s debrief in detail in the kitchen.” She said with an assured voice.

If there was a chance they finished this mission faster _and_ she could leave this place without seeing this creepy Obito, it was best.

As she sluggishly followed her little troublemakers, her hand flew to the side of her neck. She had a crick for meditating for so long. Yes, just in the junction of her shoulder and the column of her throat.

Way later, she would shiver when she saw the dark bruise marring her flesh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading me so far ^^  
> This fiction is cross-posted on FFnet (and I'll edit/import all my works here as soon as possible)
> 
> Thank you for leaving comments and kudos! It means love <3
> 
> By the way I'd like to hear your thoughts about Obito (if it is Obito of course ^^)
> 
> See ya!


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